The Return of Mr Applewood
by midnightrebellion86
Summary: Eva Beadle-Sims receives an urgent letter informing her that due to her marriage status that she must resign as the teacher of Walnut Grove school. Shortly after, a very familiar man in a black suit and a scowl on his face shows up at Oleson's Mercantile and warmly welcomed by Mrs. Oleson, and immediately re-hired as teacher of Walnut Grove without a school board meeting.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been binge watching Little House a lot and two episodes came to mind when I decided to write this. The events of this story takes place after season 4 episode 12, but before the events of the episode following it.**

**Summary: Eva Beadle-Sims receives an urgent letter informing her that due to her marriage status that she must resign as the teacher of Walnut Grove school. Shortly after, a very familiar man in a black suit and a scowl on his face shows up at Oleson's Mercantile and warmly welcomed by Mrs. Oleson, and immediately re-hired as teacher of Walnut Grove without a school board meeting.**

* * *

**Walnut Grove, MN**

* * *

It was late afternoon in the small village of Walnut Grove. The sky was blue with only a few clouds with the sun shining bright. Birds were chirping and dogs could be heard barking back and forth with one another.

A large white building with the words Oleson's Mercantile in all big capital letters had a couple of people coming in and out buying stuff before getting on their buckboards and driving away on their horse drawn buggies.

The American flag was flying proudly in front of a smaller white structure with a large bell with a pull string hanging in the front, which functioned as both the town's church, school, meeting, and social hall.

The dark brown double doors to the schoolhouse were currently shut.

The inside had two sets of six row seats, and they were currently filled with kids busy doing their schoolwork.

One student in particular with short curly hair and a grin on his face was currently standing in the corner next to the schoolhouse's back door.

At the head of the class was a woman at average height, blonde hair tied in a bun and wearing glasses was currently reading over some assignments and grading papers as the kids worked silently.

The teacher finished grading the final paper in front of her before standing up to address the class, "Alright, class is dismissed for the day," she announced, causing the students to start packing their things, but she wasn't done speaking, "But I expect the assignments you were just working on tomorrow morning."

The kids began rushing out of the room.

The kid in the corner tried sneaking out of the door, but the teacher stopped him, "Willie, you're not dismissed yet," she said, stopping him in his tracks, "This is the third time this week I've had to send you to the corner for either talking in class or spitting spitballs as the other kids. Now, we-"

The teacher was interrupted when Charles Ingalls entered the classroom with a letter in his hand and an apologetic look on his face as he slowly made his way to the front of the room, "Mrs. Sims, sorry to barge in on you like this," he said, "But this letter just came in from the state, and I think you better read it right away."

Mrs. Sims took the letter from Charles, "Thank you, Mr. Ingalls," she said gratefully before turning her attention back to Willie, who was still standing in the corner, "Willie, you may go. We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow."

Willie grabbed the handle of the back door before opening it and rushing out of the classroom, leaving just Mrs. Sims and Charles.

'I better get home," Charles said, "You have a good evening, Mrs. Sims."

"You too, Mr. Ingalls," Mrs. Sims said as she watched Charles leave the school.

Mrs. Sims opened the envelope and took the letter out before unfolding it to read it. Upon reading the contents of the letter, the smile on her face was replaced with a look of worry, shock and anger.

* * *

Mrs. Sims arrived on the pig farm owned by her new husband, Adam Sims. Said man had just finished feeding the pigs and looked over as he saw his wife arriving on the farm. Mrs. Sims stopped the buggy before grabbing her things and getting off.

Adam could see that his wife was upset, and he quickly made his way over to her, "Honey, what's the matter?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Just read this," Mrs. Sims replied before handing her husband the letter.

Adam opened the letter and read it, and he too was not happy with the contents of the letter, "Can the state really do this to you?" he asked in a slightly raised voice, "So what if you're married. You shouldn't have to step down as teacher."

"That's how I feel," Mrs. Sims said, "I just don't get it, either. Before I became the teacher of Walnut Grove School, Harriet was the teacher and she was married to Nels at the time. In fact, a few years back, I injured my ankle during an accident and Mrs. Ingalls filled in for me during my absence."

Luke Sims, the son of Adam and Eva Sims walked out of the barn after finishing his chores and he too was curious as to what was going on, "Ma, Pa, what's going on?" he asked.

Adam looked at his wife, silently asking if she wanted to tell him, or should he.

"Luke, I'm afraid I won't be teaching at the school anymore," Mrs. Sims stated, "Due to my marriage to your father, I'm being asked to step down."

Luke didn't like hearing this, "What?!" he exclaimed, "You're a great teacher!"

* * *

At the Ingalls' place, Laura and Mary were busy finishing the assignment they were working on in class, while Caroline was helping Carrie with hers.

Charles hadn't come home yet and the kids were getting worried, "Ma, were is Pa?" Carrie asked.

"I don't know, dear," Caroline replied, "Your Pa sometimes has to work later than usual, and I think today is one of those days."

Bandit was walking around sniffing the floor in hopes of scoring himself a tasty treat, as there were no scraps from any of the previous meals on the ground. The girls had already finished their chores and had just finished their assignment. Dinner was ready, but the table hadn't been set yet, as they were waiting for Charles to walk through the door.

The family didn't have to wait any longer as the door opened and Charles stepped through the door, took off his hat and hung it up on the rack before shutting the door behind him. He walked towards his wife and kissed her on the lips, "Sorry I'm late, honey," he said in a flat tone, "The mail was running late today and I just got back from delivering bad news to Mrs. Sims."

When Charles said this, Mary and Laura looked at their Pa with looks of worry on their face. They were worried because Mrs. Sims had been the only teacher they knew when moving to Walnut Grove and they had become good friends with the school teacher outside of the classroom. Caroline, although not one of Mrs. Sims' students, considered her a great family friend as well and shared the same look of worry as the two girls did. Carrie was the only one that didn't have a change in facial expression, as she had only just started school and hadn't had Mrs. Sims for a teacher, nor known her as well as Mary and Laura did.

"Pa, what's going on with Mrs. Sims?" asked a concerned Mary.

Caroline gave her oldest daughter a stern look, "Mary, this doesn't concern you," she lectured.

Charles quickly stepped in just as Mary frowned at her ma's answer to her question, "Wait, I think it may be best they know now rather than later," he said, "After all, Mrs. Sims has been a part of their lives for a long time."

Charles took a seat at the table across from Mary and Laura and a now curious Caroline decided to take a seat as well.

Mary, Laura and Caroline were waiting for Charles to start. He took a deep breath before finally starting, "Girls, Mrs. Sims won't be your teacher anymore," he stated.

Mary and Laura had stunned looks on their faces when the news was broken to them. Caroline was a bit more puzzled and wanted to know exactly why Mrs. Sims wasn't going to be the teacher any longer.

"The reason for this is because of her recent marriage," Charles added, "I don't like the rule myself, but the state is becoming more strict with enforcing that women that are married not be allowed to teach."

"That's unfair!" Laura exclaimed, "She shouldn't have her teaching position taken away for that!"

"Yeah, can't she do something?!" an outraged Mary asked.

Charles took another deep breath before responding to his now unhappy daughters, "I'm afraid not," he said.

"I wonder how Mrs. Sims is handling this," Caroline said, "It must be hard for her."

"Maybe I'll stop over there after supper," Charles said.

"Can we come too, Pa?" asked Mary, "Mrs. Sims is our friend too and I'm really worried about her."

Charles looked at Caroline to see if it would be alright for them to go, "Alright, you both can go, but I expect you to get started on your evening chores the moment you get back home," Caroline said.

"Yes, ma'am," both Laura and Mary said in unison.

* * *

Over at Oleson's Mercantile, Nels Oleson was busy organizing things in the store room. Harriet Oleson had a big smile on her face as she counted the days earnings. Willie was busy sneaking a handful of candy while his father was out of sight. Nellie was doing the same thing as her brother.

Harriet finished doing what she was doing before turning to her two kids, "As you two know, you're getting a new teacher!" she bragged in a knowing tone, "And that teacher will be coming very soon, haha!"

Nels had heard what his wife said from the store room and immediately made his way into the store front to confront his wife, "Harriet, Mrs. Sims is a fine teacher!" he exclaimed, and then it dawned on him as to why his wife was using the tone she was using, "Dear God, don't tell me you had something to do with that woman stepping down from her teaching position!"

In true Harriet fashion, she just brushed off what her husband said and didn't seem to care, 'Oh, Nels," she said, "As a member of the school board, I have a right to ensure that my children are getting a proper education and treated fairly while in school."

As usual, Nellie was quick to defend her mother, "Mother's right," she said, "Mrs. Sims always babied Laura Ingalls and lets Carrie get away with calling someone names without sending her to the corner. But when me or Willie do something, we get punished."

"And when Mrs. Sims had an emergency, she put Mary in charge," Willie complained.

Nels gave his wife and two kids a warning look, "Now you both look here," he demanded, "As far as I'm concerned, you both were punished fairly. Second, you know Mary wants to be a school teacher and all Mrs. Sims was doing was help prepare her for when her time comes!"

"AAWWWEEEUUU!" Nellie screeched before stomping her feet and running upstairs in a fit of being told off by her father.

Harriet glared at her husband for yelling at Nellie, "Now look what you did to that poor girl!" she exclaimed, "You shouldn't yell at the kids like that."

Harriet proceeded to go upstairs to comfort Nellie.

"You won't yell because you sound like a banshee," Nels said under his breath in annoyance at his wife.

Harriet wasn't completely out of earshot when Nels said that, "What was that, Nels?" she asked and glared at her husband.

"I said you do well with selling large amounts of candy," Nels replied.

Harriet gave Nels her 'That's what I thought' look before heading upstairs to calm Nellie down.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter.**

**I've always wondered how the show would've turned out if married women weren't allowed to teach, as that was a rule in the 19th century.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 An Unwelcomed Return**

* * *

Laura, Mary and Carrie were busy eating breakfast as the morning sun beamed into their little house. Charles and Caroline were also at the table and there was an unusual silence amongst them.

Laura and Mary had gone with their Pa over to the Sims' place the previous night to see how Mrs. Sims was holding up following the bad news. It was an awkward visit, as Mrs. Sims was very hurt with the news, but was trying to put up a tough front. It was also hard on Luke Sims, as he was still attending school.

Laura was the first to break the silence, though, "I hope the new teacher is just as nice as Mrs. Sims," she said.

Caroline looked at her middle child with a serious look on her face, "Regardless of who the teacher is, I expect you to be on your best behavior, young lady," she said in a serious tone.

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said, "I'll try."

Charles decided to add to the conversation next, "And that goes for you too, Mary," he said, "I know it's a bit more hard on you, as Mrs. Sims was training you to be her successor."

"Yes, sir," Mary said.

The family finished eating their breakfast and went on to do their chores before going about their day at work or school.

* * *

The stage came into town and parked across from the mercantile.

Inside the store, Harriet was busy getting the store ready to be opened for the day while Nels was cooking breakfast. Nellie and Willie were still in bed, so neither of them were seen sneaking candy.

There was a firm knock at the front door, distracting Harriet from what she was doing, 'Oh, for Heaven's Sake!" she exclaimed in an irritated tone, "Who could this be at this hour? There's clearly a sign at the front door that says closed."

The irritated heavyset woman made her way from behind the counter and made her way to the front door and peaked through the window. She jumped and her face went from one of irritation to one of pure joy as she unlocked the door and opened it.

A middle aged man with light brown hair, a permanent scowl wearing a black suit walked into the store, "Mr. Applewood, it's great to see you!" Mrs. Oleson exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

The man known as Mr. Applewood let out a light chuckle, "Well, Mrs. Oleson, I knew I had to come the moment I received your letter," he replied, "And I am most grateful for you standing up for me the last time I was here."

It was true. Two years ago, Mrs. Oleson was the one that sent the letter out asking for a new teacher when Ms. Beadle, as she was known as back then couldn't handle a few older boys roughhousing. Mrs. Oleson smiled at the disciplinarian, "Well, it was my pleasure!" she exclaimed.

While Harriet and Mr. Applewood were in the middle of talking, Nels had made his way into the storefront. His face immediately turned to one of shock and anger at the arrival of Mr. Applewood, "Harriet, what is he doing here?!" he demanded as his face turned red from anger.

Nels Oleson was usually a calm man and very polite to his fellow neighbors. Despite Nellie and Harriet's rivalry with the Ingalls family, he got along well with them. A few years back when he and Harriet were arguing over who judges the eggs, she broke the eggs over his head and still paid Mrs. Ingalls full price for them. When Nellie had Willie secretly record Laura's voice and played it for the class, he gave both Nellie and Willie a good whipping. When Nellie owned Laura's horse, Bunny, she mistreated her. Then one day after school, Bunny had finally had enough of Nellie's mistreatment and bucked her off. This led to Nellie pretending to be severely injured, with Laura peaking through the window and catching her in the act of faking. This led to Nellie being pushed down the hill in her wheelchair and Mr. Oleson giving Laura Bunny back. Then just last year, a girl named Anna with a stuttering problem was being bullied by Nellie. Laura stole her music box, but in the end, only Nellie got a whipping from Nels.

Harriet had just turned to her husband and didn't seem to care about how he felt about the situation at hand, "Oh, Nels, we need a new teacher," she stated.

"Harriet, you know these decisions have to be voted on by the school board!" Nels shouted out of frustration.

"And the majority of the money the teacher gets paid comes out of our pocket," Harriet argued back, "So the decision is final. Mr. Applewood is the teacher."

Nels let out a long sigh of frustration and defeat. Harriet was not an easy person to argue with when money's involved.

* * *

Mary, Laura and Carrie had their lunch buckets, but the older two of the three had nervous looks on their faces and didn't want to go to school.

Charles saw their looks and took a deep breath, "Mary, Laura, I know Mrs. Sims won't be there to teach, but you have to go," he stated.

"I know, Pa, but," Laura started.

Caroline cut Laura off before she could say anything else, "No buts, young lady," she said sternly, "Now you three get off to school. You don't want to be late on the new teacher's first day."

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said in a defeated tone before she and her sisters made her way towards the door.

When the three left and shut the door behind them, Caroline looked at her husband, "Charles, are you sure they'll be alright?" she asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

When Caroline asked this, Charles had a look of concern on his face, "Caronine, I sure hope so," he said, "But if what that letter said is true, at least they won't have Mrs. Oleson as their teacher."

* * *

Laura, Mary and Carrie were walking towards town carrying their lunch buckets. Neither of them said a word to one another. Neither of them were angry at each other, but it was just nervous silence.

The three girls crossed the bridge and made it into town square where Hanson's Mill, the bank, the post office, Oleson's Mercantile, Doc Baker's office and the blacksmith's shop were located.

Several kids, including Andy Garvey, Spotted Eagle, the Oleson kids, Luke Sims and a few others were playing outside the schoolhouse.

Laura and Mary breathed a sigh of relief as the kids playing outside was a good indication that they were not running late for school.

That last stretch to the schoolyard felt like an eternity for the Ingalls girls, mainly due to them not knowing who the new teacher was. The three finally reached the schoolyard and Carrie went to go find one of her friends to talk to, while Laura and Mary went over to Andy, "Hi, Andy," Laura greeted.

Andy looked up from what he was doing and saw Mary and Laura, "Hi guys," he greeted, "You both look nervous."

Mary let out a long sigh before sitting on a tree stump, "I'm a bit nervous about who the new teacher is," she stated.

Andy, clearly not knowing who the teacher was, looked at Mary, "Wait, you know who our new teacher is?" he asked.

Mary shook her head no, "No, what I meant is I'm nervous because I don't know who our teacher is," she corrected, "I just hope he or she is as good as Mrs. Sims."

"Look!" Laura exclaimed as she saw Nellie making her way up the school steps to ring the bell for class.

Nellie began ringing the bell and the students stopped what they were duing and began making their way up the steps.

"Well, I guess it's time to find out who our teacher is," Mary said before grabbing her lunch bucket and standing up from the tree stump.

The Ingalls girls and Andy made their way up the steps and into the classroom before hanging their bonnets and putting their lunch buckets away. When they reached the classroom area, all the color on Laura's face drained. Standing at the head of the classroom was someone she had hoped she'd never have to see again. That someone was none other than Mr. Applewood and his permanent scowl on his face.

The same thing was going through Mary's mind. Even though Mr. Applewood didn't target her during his first stint as teacher, she was still afraid of him, as the sound of the ruler coming down on a misbehaving student's hand would make anyone flinch in fear. She remembered Laura's two swats with that ruler.

The students began taking their seats, and Willie Oleson had a nervous look on his face, as despite his mother getting along with him, he didn't like him, either.

The aforementioned Mary took a deep breath and gathered what little confidence she had and began making her way to the front of the class to grade the previous day's homework assignments. Mrs. Sims knew Mary wanted to become a teacher and knew she'd be graduating soon. She allowed Mary to help grade papers and teach some of the younger students to help her get her feet wet.

Unfortunately for Mary, the moment she reached the front desk, Mr. Applewood glared at her, "Why aren't you in your seat?" he demanded.

Mary had to stay strong, and she stopped herself from walking away in fear, "I help Mrs. Sims grade the homework assignments from yesterday," she replied.

"Mrs. Sims isn't here, so I'll be grading the papers," Mr. Applewood said, "Now go to your seat."

"But Mr. App-," Mary started.

"NOW!" Boomed Mr. Applewood as she hit his desk with his ruler as a warning.

A now dejected Mary slowly made her way to her seat as tears were threatening to flood her eyes and roll down her cheeks. Laura looked at her sister with concern and felt bad for her. Mary's feelings were very hurt. It really meant a lot to her that she had come a long way and was finally given the opportunity to not only help grade papers, but teach a couple of the lessons.

Once Mary took her seat, Mr. Applewood began speaking again, "Now then, I will go over the guidelines and new rules that you will all abide by," he said.

For Laura, Mary, Nellie and Willie, they had heard this lecture before, as they were there for the first time Mr. Applewood was the teacher. He went over the fact that all students must write their names at the upper right hands of their papers or receive a failing grade. Students couldn't have traces of eraser marks or they would receive a failing grade.

Laura looked at Mary and then back to Mr. Applewood. Her heart was beating so fast as she listened to him speak. Ironically, she was sitting in the exact same spot she was currently sitting in when it was time to write down the new rules. Sven Jacobson had wrote and passed a note, which got to Nellie Oleson and then ended up under her hand while she was writing down the rules, which led to her getting hit twice with that ruler and she had to write on the blackboard, getting behind on her actual schoolwork.

This time around, Sven and his buddies Herman Stone and George Jackson weren't sitting in the back dropping books on the floor and wrestling. She was very nervous, as she was afraid she'd find another piece of paper talking down on the new teacher she didn't write. Fortunately for her, there was no note passing going on this time around, but there was something about to happen that would make her blood boil.

Nellie Oleson was sitting directly behind Carrie and she took out a stick of licorice and slowly moved it behind the youngest Ingalls girls' ear and began moving it up and down, making her laugh.

Nellie pulled her hand back just before she got caught by the mean teacher.

This was not good for Carrie, as she was caught by Mr. Applewood, "Carrie Ingalls," he called out.

"Yes sir," Carrie replied.

"Why aren't you doing your writing assignment?" Mr. Applewood asked, "And more importantly, why are you laughing?"

"Someone tickled behind my ear," Carrie stated.

Laura had witnessed what Nellie was doing, and she was angry. She wanted to walk up to her and punch her so hard. In most cases, Laura could handle Nellie teasing her, but it always made her blood boil when Nellie said anything about her family.

"Did anyone see Carrie's ear get tickled?" Mr. Applewood asked.

"Yes, it was Nellie Oleson," Laura responded, "She tickled Carrie's ear with a stick of licorice."

Mr. Applewood turned his attention to Nellie next, "Nellie Oleson, did you tickle Carrie with a stick of licorice?" he asked.

"No sir," Nellie lied.

The disciplinarian turned his attention back to Carrie, "Carrie Ingalls, come here," he demanded.

Carrie got up and made her what to the front of the classroom. Mary and Laura watched as she was about to go through the same fate the Laura did. He grabbed his ruler and walked around the desk to stand in front of the scared little girl.

"Hold out your hand," Mr. Applewood demanded.

Carrie slowly held her hand out and the teacher grabbed her by the wrist and held it in place before grabbing the ruler and positioning it before raising his hand and coming down hard, striking the little girl, causing her to wince in pain as tears began to form in her eyes.

Laura watched this and seeing her sister getting punished unfairly was making her more and more angry.

The usually calm and well behaved Mary was even getting upset. It took a lot to get Mary upset, but when she did lose her temper, she could be very fierce. A few weeks ago, a handyman had come to the Ingalls' place to fix up the kitchen and Harriet Oleson had began spreading rumors about Caroline having an affair with him, which Nellie echoed during recess one day. This resulted in a rare loss in temper by Mary and she slapped Nellie across the face, causing the rich blonde to run home crying.

Then, the second swat from the ruler happened, and Carrie hadn't felt pain like that before and she was in tears.

But Mr. Applewood wasn't done yet. He held onto Carrie's wrist and brought the ruler down for a third time.

This was a first for even Mr. Applewood. He had never hit anyone more than twice.

"That's for laughing in class, lying and not doing your writing assignment," Mr. Applewood said, "You won't have recess or lunch hour today, either."

Carrie went to her seat and tears were streaming down her face as she sat down.

Mr. Applewood wasn't done yet, as he turned his attention to Laura, "Laura Ingalls, come here," he ordered.

Laura did as told and she got two hits with the ruler for lying, and she got her recess/lunch hour taken away for the day.

* * *

Caroline was busy cleaning the kitchen when the door to the house opened and Laura, Mary and Carrie entered the house, taking the mother away from what she was doing.

Mary and Laura didn't look happy and Carrie's tears had long since dried, but you could tell that she had been crying.

Carrie had ran to her mother and embraced her, and so did Laura and Mary. Caroline returned the four person hug, as she knew that there was something wrong.

Caroline broke the hug and looked at her three girls, "Girls, what's wrong?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Mr. Applewood's back and he's the teacher," Mary announced to her mother.

This stunned Caroline. Mr. Applewood had resigned on his own following the day Charles had to come in and intervene when he was about to his Laura with a ruler for knocking over his chair and pushing his bag onto the floor.

"Oh, no," Caroline said in a low tone, "What happened at school today?"

Laura told her Ma about Nellie tickling Carrie and getting her in trouble with Mr. Applewood. She told her Ma about her being punished for reporting it, as he thought she was lying.

"I'm going to tell your father about this when he gets home," Caroline said with anger in her voice, "In the meantime, I want you to get started on your chores and wash up before supper."

* * *

**Thank you to those that followed, favorited and reviewed and read the last chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Demand for Answers**

* * *

Charles' face was so red that a ripe tomato would be jealous. He had an angry look on his face just moments after coming home. Caroline had delivered the news to him that Mr. Applewood had returned to Walnut Grove as the teacher in place of the recently fired Mrs. Simms.

Caroline had put an arm on Charles in an attempt to calm him down, "Charles, I know you're upset about this news, but losing your temper will only make things worse for the girls," she said in a calm tone.

Charles' hard head nature reared its ugly head after his wife tried to calm him down, "No, Caroline," he snapped as he pulled his arm away from her, "I was nice to him the first time he was here. And now I here he's putting his hands on one of my other girls and getting in the way of my other girl from pursuing her teaching career. I won't have it, Caroline!"

Laura, Mary and Carrie had been excused from the dinner table. Carrie was sent to her room, while Laura and Mary were up in the loft.

Caroline was standing in front of the door blocking Charles from going over to Oleson's Mercantile in haste, "Charles, you need to calm down," she calmly said.

"Caroline, move out of my way," Charles demanded, already not happy, "That man put his hands on two of my girls and threatened the other. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it right now!"

Caroline let out a long sigh of defeat. There was no way she was going to calm Charles down. He had already had a rough day at work, only to come home to hearing of the problem teacher's return.

* * *

Charles' buggy sped through the dirt roads of Walnut Grove in haste with an angry Charles riding on the buckboard. He crossed the bridge and made it into town before making his way to the parking space by the side of the mercantile. He put the horses to a stop before climbing off the buckboard, running up the steps of the mercantile before frantically banging on the front door of the store, which had the closed sign hanging in the door.

Charles kept pounding on the door until it finally opened with an annoyed Harriet Oleson standing on the other side, "Mr. Ingalls, you kno-," she was cut off.

"Mrs. Oleson, we need to talk," Charles demanded.

Before Harriet could reply to Charles' demands, Nels had made his way to the store front to see what all the commotion was, "Harriet, who's at-," he stopped his sentence when he saw an angry Charles standing outside the door, "Charles, what brings you here?"

"Nels, gather everyone on the school board," he said, "You and everyone else will know why I'm here when we meet."

Harriet was quick to object to this, "Mr. Ingalls, a sch-," she was cut off again.

"Harriet, be quiet," Nels ordered before turning his attention back to Charles with an apologetic look on his face, "Charles, I'll go gather the other members right now. And between us, I don't like this any more than you do."

Charles couldn't help but smile. Nels was always good to him, "I appreciate that, Nels," he said, "I'll see you at the meeting."

* * *

The school board was now gathered at the schoolhouse for the meeting. The school board consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Oleson, Charles Ingalls, Doc Baker, Mrs. Foster and Mr. Hanson as head of the school board.

Mrs. Oleson had a scowl on her face, as she didn't want to be there and thought it was a waste of time.

The Reverend Alden was also present to serve as peace keeper even though he wasn't a member of the school board. Nels had asked him to come, as he knew things could get heated between his wife and Charles.

Charles, who asked for the emergency meeting didn't hesitate to start the meeting, "I'm sorry for short notice, but I feel that this meeting is necessary," he stated before turning his attention to Harriet Oleson, "I called this meeting because without mine or anyone's knowledge, a new teacher was hired behind mine and all the other members of this school board."

This confused Mr. Hanson, Mrs. Foster and Doc Baker. Mr. Hanson turned his attention to Charles and had questions, "Charles, what are you implying?" he asked in a German accent.

"Mr. Hanson, what I'm saying is when I got home today, my wife informed me of my girls being mistreated in school today," Charles stated.

Mrs. Oleson was quick to interject, "Charles Ingalls, you and me both know your daughter is known for bullying my Nellie and my Willie," she stated, "And we needed someone with a will to punish those that misbehave."

This made Charles angry. He knew his daughter Laura had a temper, but he was NOT going to allow Mrs. Oleson to call Laura a bully, "Perhaps you should look in the mirror before calling my little girl a bully, Mrs. Oleson!" he yelled.

The reverend had to step in between the two before Mrs. Oleson said something to make Charles even more upset, "Now you two, just calm down," he said calmly, "We are in God's house."

Mrs. Oleson then turned her attention to the reverend, "Reverend, might I remind you that you're not a member of this school boar-," she was cut off by her husband grabbing her arm and pulling her down.

"Harriet, knock it off!" he exclaimed.

Mr. Hanson then turned his attention back to Charles, "Charles, please continue," he said kindly.

Charles cleared his throat before continuing what he had to say, "As I was saying, I was informed that two of my little girls were punished unfairly and my oldest was denied the privilege to help teach the class," he started, "The teacher behind this is none other than Mr. Applewood," he turned his attention back to Harriet, "Mrs. Oleson, why on earth did you bring that man back to this town?!"

The others, save for Nels were shocked and a bit upset upon hearing that Mr. Applewood had returned to Walnut Grove.

"Mr. Ingalls, its my money that contributes the most to this town," Mrs. Oleson stated, "So it is my right to ensure that the school has a proper teacher."

Mr. Hanson glared at Harriet, "And I'm the head of the school board, and founder ot this town!" he shouted with anger, "You know in the bi-laws of this board that the hiring of a new teacher has to be voted on by all of us."

Harriet kept her cocky look, "And might I remind you, Mr. Hanson, you may have founded this town, but my mercantile brings in more business than your mill," she stated before turning her attention back to Charles, "And Charles, its just like an Ingalls to complain when your daughters don't get their way."

"ENOUGH!" Lars Hanson shouted before calming himself down.

This made Harriet flinch. She was not expecting Lars Hanson to get very upset.

Charles had just about enough of this meeting, and Mrs. Oleson was really making his blood boil. He wanted so badly to seek out Mr. Applewood and beat him within an inch of his life. But he knew it wouldn't be the Christian thing to do.

Doc Baker, who was one that had been quiet throughout the meeting had stood up and made a suggestion, "Why can't we just let Mrs. Simms continue teaching?" he asked, "She's been a great teacher all these years. So what if she's married. We did hire Mrs. Ingalls to teach a few years back when she hurt her ankle. And when Mrs. Ingalls got frustrated and quit when Mrs. Oleson interfered, we allowed her to teach."

Mrs. Oleson got over her shock from Mr. Hanson shouting and gave Doc Baker a dirty look, "Because, Dr. Baker, the new rules states that women that are married can no longer teach, per this letter!" she exclaimed before pulling out the letter.

This time, Mr. Oleson decided it was time to say something, "A letter that was sent here because YOU wrote to the state after Mrs. Simms took Nellie's candy away from her when she hit another girl in the back of the head with a peppermint stick!" he exclaimed.

Harriet glared at her husband, "Nels!" she shouted.

Charles had calmed down enough to finally speak again, "As long as Harriet's rule is in effect, my girls will not be coming back to school," he stated, "My wife can teach my girls at home."

Nels, Mr. Hanson and Doc Baker had looks of concern on their faces when Charles said this. Mrs. Foster, who was the only one that was close to Harriet, didn't have a look of concern.

The reverend was also very concerned.

"I move that the meeting be adjourned," Doc Baker said.

"I second the motion," Mr. Hanson said.

Harriet looked at her husband, "I'll see ou at home," she said angrily before standing up and storming out of the schoolhouse with Mrs. Foster in tow.

Charles was about to leave, but he was stopped, "Wait, Charles, can we have a word with you for a minute?" Mr. Hanson asked.

"Sure," Charles said as he sat down on one of the benches, "What is it?"

Mr. Hanson took a deep breath before continuing, "Charles, before you and your family moved here, Mrs. Oleson was the teacher of Walnut Grove," he stated, "Willie had just started attending school and he and Nellie were always causing problems for the class. Harriet would punish the other kids instead. Things got so bad that the parents had decided to pull their kids out of school and teach at home or travel further and go to other schools."

Nels was next to speak up, "And because of that, many of the families had moved away, which hurt the town's economy," he added, "We as a town had to do something, and that something was to vote Harriet out as teacher. She didn't take it very well, so we promised her a permanent position on the school board, but would never be allowed to teach unless she was a last resort when a substitute quits, like when your wife had stepped down. That's when we hired Ms. Beadle, or Mrs. Simms now. Harriet has been bitter about it ever since, and that's why she interferes so much with the teachers. I'm really sorry, Charles."

This was a lot to take in for Charles, but it all made sense. He took a deep breath, "It isn't your fault, Nels," he said calmly, "But I really need to get home to my wife and talk to her about this."

Charles stood up and began making his way towards the front doors, "Good night, Charles," everyone in the room said.

After Charles left, Mr. Hanson let out a long sigh, "Thank you, Harriet Oleson," he said sarcastically.

"I think it's a blessing that no one got physically hurt tonight," the reverend stated.

Dr. Baker couldn't help but chuckle at this, "That's very true, reverend," he said, "I'm no surgeon, so if any bones had been broken tonight, I wouldn't be able to help them."

Mr. Oleson stood up, "I better get home," he stated, "I know I'm bound to catch hell from Harriet when I get home."

* * *

**That's it for this chapter.**

**Thanks to those that read and reviewed the last chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 School Wars Part 1**

* * *

Caroline and the girls waited patiently for Charles to come home from the school board meeting. Laura sat at the table with a curious look on her face and turned to her ma, "Ma, how do you think the meeting went?" she asked.

Caroline turned away from the door to face Laura, "I don't know, Laura," she replied, "The best thing we can do is hope for the best."

"I hope they fired that Mr. Applewood," Mary chimed in with venom in her tone.

Mary was normally a peacemaker when Laura would get into fights with people, often holding her back. But Mr. Applewood was one of the rare exceptions to Mary's anger. When the family hired that handyman, Nellie was nagging her about monkey business, and slapped the spoiled blonde girl. Another incident was more recent when a tribe of Native Americans came to town looking for a doctor. The MacGreger boy had mentioned that it was his father's Christian duty to find and hang the Indians. He had grabbed Laura's jump rope and tried to demonstrate, but Mary kicked him in the shin and punched him in the gut and yelled at him.

Caroline would've normally reprimanded Mary for saying something like that. But this was one of those situations where she agreed 110% with her daughter. She was concerned that Charles would lose his temper and become violent with the unwelcomed teacher.

Everyone's anxiety skyrocketed when they heard the door open and saw Charles enter the little house before shutting the door behind him.

Laura quickly got up to greet her pa, "Pa, how'd it go?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice, "Is Mrs. Sims going to be our teacher again?"

Charles let out a long sigh before getting a very serious look on his face, "Girls, sit down," he said.

Laura being Laura, knew that there was something wrong, "What's wrong, pa?" she asked.

Caroline interjected before Charles could yell at Laura for not listening, "Laura, your father asked you to sit down," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said.

Laura did as she was told and resumed her seat next to Mary. Charles sat down at the head of the table before taking another breath, "Mr. Applewood is still on as the teacher," he stated, "And the reason being is because Harriet Oleson went behind the backs of the school board members and hired him. She's also responsible for Mrs. Sims stepping down as teacher. She sent that letter."

This angered Laura and Mary, "I want to punch Mrs. Oleson in the stomach!" shouted an angry Laura.

Charles gave her daughter a warning glare, "Half-Pint, you will not talk like that," he warned, "I know this is very upsetting, and I would normally ask you and Mary to go to the loft. But I feel that you're both old enough to know what's going on."

"What are we going to do, pa?" asked Mary, "I love school, but I don't want to go to school with him as my teacher! Please, pa!"

Mary was nearly in tears. It really was that bad if someone with excellent grades didn't want to go to school.

Charles let out another sigh before turning to Caroline, "I told the school board that I'd be pulling the girls out of school," he stated, "And I want you to teach the girls until this mess is over with. I'll deliver the eggs to the mercantile."

"But what about my teaching?" Mary asked, "I can help Ma. I'll be graduating soon."

Charles turned to Caroline, and she nodded, "Yes, you can help me teach," she replied, "I know how much becoming a teacher means to you."

Mary let out a sigh of relief before running over and giving her ma a big hug, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, ma!" she exclaimed.

Caroline returned the hug and smiled, "You're welcome, dear," she said before kissing her on the forehead, "Now it's getting late, I want you and your sisters to get ready for bed. I can't have my fellow teacher falling asleep on her first day."

* * *

Charles entered the mercantile carrying the basket of eggs. Jonathan Garvey was standing ahead of him in line with his son, Andrew. Ever since Mr. Edwards and his family decided to leave town, the Garvey family had become best friends with the Ingalls'.

Jonathan turned around to greet his friend, "Good morning, Charles," he greeted.

"Good morning, Jonathan, Andy," Charles greeted both the man and his kid.

"Good morning, Mr. Ingalls," Andy replied.

Harriet got annoyed with the attention being taken away from her, "Mr. Garvey, I said that you owe 64 cents," she said in a rude tone, "You can talk to Charles after you finish your transaction."

Jonathan let out an annoyed groan of his own before slamming the coins onto the counter, "There's your 64 cents, Mrs. Oleson," he said back with just as much fight in his voice before turning his attention to Nels, "Nels, sorry for my outburst. I need to get to the school and get Andrew's records. I found out this morning about why that man is the new teacher. We're taking him out of school."

With that, Jonathan left the mercantile with his son in tow, leaving just Charles, Harriet and Nels.

Charles walked to the counter and placed the basket of eggs on the counter, "I have two dozen eggs today," Charles stated, "Please mark it in the book. I need to get over to the mill."

Charles turned around to leave, but Harriet did something that would nearly make Charles lose his cool. She picked up the basket and feigned bad grip before dropping the basket onto the floor, breaking all of the eggs, "Oops, I just seem to lose my grip lately," she said in a sarcastic tone while trying to hold back a smirk for what she had just done.

This enraged Nels big time. Harriet was known for her grudges and getting back at others. The school board meeting from the previous night when things got heated on a few occasions was the reason for Harriet doing what she was doing, "Harriet, get to the back, now!" he ordered.

Harriet glared at her husband, "Nels, I ju-" she got cut off.

"I SAID NOW!" Nels shouted, causing his wife to flinch in fear, "AND DON'T COME BACK OUT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!"

Harriet scurried to the store room and once she was out of sight, Nels turned his attention to Charles.

"Charles, I'm sorry for my wife," Nels said.

Charles just sighed, "It's alright, Nels," he said, "I suppose it's better than having the whole basket dumped on your head like a few years ago."

This made Nels laugh. That was a hard time in the Oleson marriage. Mrs. Ingalls had come into the store to deliver eggs, but Nels wanted to judge the eggs. This led to an argument which ended in Harriet dumping the eggs onto her husband's head. He still paid for the eggs. When Caroline told Charles about it, he laughed hysterically. The townsfolk had to do all they could to keep the couple from not divorcing, going as far as to have Dr. Baker court Harriet.

"Well like a few years ago, I'll still pay you regular price for the eggs even though they were destroyed by my wife," Nels stated, "And between me and you, I was considering taking Nellie and Willie out of school. I won't because Harriet will just let them sleep and not teach them anything."

Charles laughed at what Nels had told him, "You're in a real jam, Nels," he said, "I'll talk to you later."

"Good day, Charles," Nels said.

Charles turned to leave the store and an idea began to form in his head.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Mr. Applewood's return to Walnut Grove. The class size had shrunk with the absence of Mary, Laura, Carrie, Andy and a few other students.

There was a lot of conflict at the school board meetings with the school board being unable to get Mr. Applewood out as teacher, due to Harriet Oleson's influence.

Mary and Caroline had grown very bored with just teaching just Laura and Carrie.

The Ingalls family were sitting at the dinner table and it was dead silent, and not an angry silence, either. It was just that they had nothing to say.

That silence was broken by Charles, "What's wrong?" he asked, "You all haven't said a thing."

Caroline let out a long sigh, "Charles, when I agreed to teach our girls, I was happy about it," she said, "But to be honest, I'm underwhelmed by it."

Then the idea that Charles had a couple of weeks back when he was at the mercantile had surfaced, "I have an idea that could make things better," he said, "And I feel stupid for not bringing this up sooner."

Laura looked at her pa with curious eyes, "What is it, pa?" she asked.

"I was thinking that we invite all the kids that were pulled out of school to come here to be taught," Charles suggested, "That way, the girls will have some of their classmates back and you and Mary both can write official lesson plans. This house may be small, but I'm sure if we moved a few things around, we could turn this common room into a temporary classroom. I talked to Mr. Hanson about it and he offered to donate the needed lumber to build a room for school on this property."

Hearing this idea made both Caroline and Mary excited again, "Charles, that would be great!" Caroline exclaimed, "How many kids were pulled out besides our kids?"

"I know Alice has a teaching certificate, but I'm sure she'd allow Andy to come and learn," Charles stated, "Nels was considering pulling Nellie and Willie out of school as well," Laura was about to complain about not liking Nellie, but Charles quickly cut her off, "And Half-Pint, I know you and Nellie haven't always gotten along, but it's the neighborly thing to do is invite them to come to school here."

Laura let out a sigh of defeat, "Alright," she said, "I'll invite her and Willie tomorrow when I go deliver the eggs."

"Good girl," Charles said before kissing his daughter on the forehead, "Now finish eating your stew before Bandit jumps up and eats it."

"Yes, sir," Laura said before she resumed eating.

"Oh, I can ask Spotted Eagle if he wants to come learn, pa," Mary said, "And Solomon Henry came back. I'm sure he'd love to learn as well."

"I think that would be a great idea," Charles said.

"Then on the way to the mercantile, I can ask a couple of the others if they'd be willing to come," Laura added.

* * *

Laura brought the eggs into the mercantile and this time Nels was the one working behind the counter, "Good morning, Mr. Oleson," she greeted.

Nels looked over and smiled at Laura, "Good morning, Laura," he greeted, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing great, Mr. Oleson," Laura said, "I just have a dozen eggs today."

Laura placed the basket of eggs onto the counter and Nels counted them. After counting them, he gave a nod, "Would you like cash or mark it in the book?" he asked.

"Mark it in the book, please," Laura said.

Nels marked the eggs into the account and Laura was about to leave, but then she remembered something.

"Mr. Oleson, are Willie and Nellie here?" she asked.

"No, Laura," Nels replied, "What's the matter?"

"My ma's going to start teaching other kids in the area at our house," Laura stated, "And We've been going around asking anyone if they're interested. I was wondering if Nellie and Willie were interested. We already have the Garveys on board, Jenny's ma, Solomon Henry, Spotted Eagle, Jonah Davis' parents, the Piersons, the Harrisons and Mr. Farrow."

Nels didn't see his wife in sight, so he didn't take long to respond, "Laura, tell your ma that Nellie and Willie will be there for school Monday morning," he said.

"I will, Mr. Oleson," Laura said, "I better get back home now. Have a good day, Mr. Oleson."

Laura left the shop as Mr. Oleson waved goodbye. What Nels didn't know was that Harriet was in the store room listening to the whole conversation.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter.**

**Thanks to those that read and reviewed the last chapter.**


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